July 1st 1916 – Attack on La Boisselle

Choose a soldier from the virtual cemetery and follow his story through the battle.

On the worst day ever in British military history, La Boisselle was the worst battlefield.  It holds the following records:

  • The highest number of casualties on the day – 6,380
  • The highest number of soldiers killed – 2,267
  • The highest number of Unknown soldiers – 1,927, 85% of the soldiers killed
  • The widest piece of No Man’s Land on the Somme battlefront – Mash Valley 800m
  • The Lochnagar Mine, which was the largest man-made explosion at that time

Attack on La Boisselle – 5 mins

Mash Valley – 2 min 40 sec

Glory Hole Lochnagar Mine – 1 min 10 sec

Sausage Valley – 2 min 30 sec

Methods of attack

Mines – 1 min 50 sec

Artillery – 40 sec

Machine Gun – 2 mins

Narrated by Brendan Maitland

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